Friday, May 22, 2009

Seeing Red...


..in a good way.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Palermo

After my outrageously good vegetarian meal the other weekend, I took a stroll trough the leafy, cobble-stoned, extremely fashionable streets of Palermo. I have finally found a place where I like window shopping more than the shopping. Not because they don't have great things to buy, but because they have truly elevated the "art" of window display and shop interior design. A lot of the shops are in really old buildings with funky layouts, great architectural details and courtyards. They take full advantage of the uniqueness of their spaces, making it fun to explore. Here are just a few pretty places...














This last one has got to be the coolest sunglasses shop evah!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sharing


I am happy to share with you a photo I took last year of two of my nieces, Julia and Grace.
I recently joined a photo sharing group called Shutter Sisters One Word Project, found through flickr. The word for May is "Share". So, I submitted the photo above as I thought it was pretty obvious...these girls were sharing, man! They were sharing smiles and laughter, excitement and energy, a connection through doing something cool, as well as my scarf!
I was so flattered when it was picked as a "Project Feature" and displayed on their blog.
To make it even better, it was picked on their mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Janice! Thank you for sharing with me your beautiful daughters and a sweet son!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Yes ! You can be a vegetarian in Argentina!

Yes, you can have a"plato macrobiotico" in the world capitol of beef eaters!


Yes, they will offer you a whole tray full of spices to play with!


Yes, they will give you fresh baked whole wheat rolls and tea!


Yes, you will look at it for a long while before believing it is real!



Yes, you will leave happy from here!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Show and Tell Time

Well, yes, I have been attending a jewelry course down here in Argentina, and so I thought I'd show you it is I have been working on. I carved each of these pieces in wax first, then had them cast in silver. Sounds easy, right? Not exactly, but I have found that I really love carving wax and being able to transform my drawings into 3D objects. I have a great teacher, Carlos, who is also just really funny to be around, so I often stayed at school, carving away for 8 hours a day (like a "real" job!). Here's what I have finished so far:

A reminder to wear on your wrist...

A simple and sweet bird...

For the shell collector...

This is one half of what will be a small seashell locket...
All of these pieces are to be incorporated into my "Summer 09" jewelry line. There's more coming, too-rings! Stay tuned...

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mom

Happy Mother's Day Mumma!
My mom is (that is in bold because she will try and deny this fact) the reason I am an artist, designer, lover of art and visiting museums (especially with her). The reason why I see beauty and spirituality in nature. The reason why I work with my hands and love doing it.

Some of my earliest memories are sitting out on the porch coloring clowns with flowers in their hats and Indians (this was pre-"Native American") with long feather headdresses. I could do this for hours and could not have been happier. She is the reason one of my teachers made fun of me for making a purple smile and orange nose on a figure I drew in second grade. She is the reason another teacher poked fun at my mask from art class, because it was so different from the rest, with it's huge nose and tiny mouth. She is the reason I gasped in delight when seeing the tiny "stars" you could make by touching a magic marker to a piece of silk. She is the reason I shocked another teacher by making an Indian "scalp belt" from scraps of leather (the shriveled scalp) and yarn (the hair of the scalped) to go with my book report. The reason why I bruised my thumb pushing a needle through the leather to add bead work. The reason why I made an entire collection of Thanksgiving outfits for my "Strawberry Shortcake" dolls one year (yes, she made clothes for us for Easter and Christmas and the first day of school...hence my idea.).
The reason why I (and all of us kids) made so many home-made cards for birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. They are so fun to look at now.
The list goes on and on. I never asked if it was okay to do these things, I just felt I could do anything with my hands and my creativity.
I still do.
Thanks Mum. I love you.

Mum with Ariette, who clearly loves her already, too!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Dan and Jessie

It was so fun to show my little bro Danny and his girl Jessie around Buenos Aires. We ate lots, drank wine, listened to music in the street, and had fun snapping pics as we walked all around town. Here's a little look:

We started off with breakfasts at Helena's. They were fabulous.


As Jessie is a chef, soon to open her own cafe in Astoria (!), I felt she must have this little cooking bear from Helena's for her kitchen. Plus, it's her birthday this month!


Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the most adorable server in the entire world. That's what Dan and Jessie are smiling at.


We walked around the Puerto Madero area to see the "Bridge of the Woman" designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Danny knew all about it and was excited to see it as he is "into" architecture. Jessie's Dad is a photographer of architecture, so we took pictures of the bridge's shadow in the water so as not embarrass ourselves attempting pictures of the actual bridge.


Well, I had to get one to show him it was actually us there. And really, Danny took lots and is really good at taking photos.


Dan and Jessie stayed in a cute apartment in Palermo, one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. Very appropriate for them. It's full of cool restaurants, hip boutiques and creative spaces.
We liked this wall as a backdrop.


We walked a lot and saw many huge gorgeous buildings. I would love to get a peek inside some of these places.





We had to stop in at Cafe Tortoni for a cafe and some sweets. You can imagine our excitement when we were seated right next to to some famous patrons.


Another favorite breakfast (and dinner) place was Bio, in Palermo. It was lovely to go eat somewhere that was light, fresh and organic.


They certainly have the prettiest fruit salad I have ever seen.


The bright lime green decor made us happy while waiting for our coffee and tea!


We also ate at a few places where we just got WAY too much food. Unfortunately, it was really good, so it was hard to stop eating. One of them was at La Cabrera, a famous "parilla", or grilled beef restaurant. Remarkably, they had a veggie option (times are a-changing in Buenos Aires), which was also WAY too much food. Dan and Jessie said the beef was good. Ditto for the veggies.


On Sunday we walked around "la Boca", a neighborhood at the mouth of the river Riachuelo, the place where many immigrants entered the city. It's full of colorful buildings, tango and gaucho dancing and craft vendors (on the weekends, that is).



I sent Dan and Jessie off to Colonia for an little overnight, so the trip flew by really fast. Now they're gone and I miss them already! Thanks you guys. I loved hanging out with you and will see you soon in NYC!!!

Aren't they sweet?

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Colonia, Blue and Red


The buildings are weather bleached and white washed. The river is the color of coffee with milk. The sun shines strong and bright and the sky seems more blue.
Colors are practically presented to you.











A place where it's easy to observe color.